Gourmet Pie Iron Pizza Paninis
Why I Love This Recipe
This is a camping recipe made using a pie iron. For those unfamiliar with pie irons, they are a cast iron cooking implement used for cooking over campfires and can be found at most sporting goods or camping stores. When closed, they look a bit like a flat iron (like one you’d use on your hair) with really long handles. You place a filled pie iron over coals (not directly in the fire) or on a grate over a less-hot area of your campfire.
If you are new to pie iron cooking, you will want to make sure you follow the package instructions for seasoning your pie iron before attempting to cook anything with it. If you enjoy this recipe, see my kitchen page to find my full selection of pie iron cooking recipes.
This recipe yields approx 6 personal sized pizza paninis.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 stick butter
1 loaf Italian bread, evenly sliced into 12 slices
1 jar pizza sauce
Dried Oregano to taste
Dried Basil to taste
1 package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package pre-sliced pepperoni
1 can olives, drained and sliced
3 button mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, sliced and cut into strips
½ grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Directions
1) Generously butter one side of each slice of bread. Place one slice of bread - buttered side down - into the pie iron (depending on the size of your pie iron, you may need to place bread diagonally).
2) Evenly spread approx 2 Tablespoons pizza sauce over slice in iron. Sprinkle with oregano and basil to taste. Top with mozzarella cheese until sauce is just covered. Add pepperoni, olives, mushrooms and onion as desired. Sprinkle toppings with Parmesan cheese. Spread approx 1 Tablespoon pizza sauce on the non-buttered side of a comparably sized piece of bread. Place this second slice – butter side up – on top of the pizza.
3) Close the pie iron and cook over medium coals or on a grate over a less-hot portion of the fire, turning every 3-5 minutes. After the pie iron has cooked for approx 5 minutes on each side, gently open the pie iron to check its progress. If necessary, continue cooking, turning every 3-5 minutes, until lightly browned on both sides. When done, carefully remove from pie from iron and allow to cool before eating.
4) Repeat steps 1-3 with remaining ingredients